Oblivion

If you like gritty, edgy mystery you will love Oblivion, by Peter Abrahams. This is one of the most unique mystery books out there.

Nick Petrov is a private investigator. He just testified at trial and got a serial killer put away. Read carefully, because the phrase "shadow of a doubt" has real meaning here. Now Nick knows he will be hounded by Gerald Reasoner's lawyer and will have a hit man following him as long as it takes. But what Reasoner did to these woman qualifies him for the deepest pits of hell available. Nick had followed the cases and combed through the murder sites, finally finding a clue that was present in each case.

A woman, Liza Rummel, comes to Nick about her missing daughter. Nick doesn't want to take the case, but the mother has cash in large amounts. Before he can get started on his hunt for Amanda, the missing girl, he runs into trouble.

A thug hits Nick in the head with a beer bottle and beats him senseless, leaving him in the desert, where he awakens with a vulture ripping apart the sleeve of his suit coat. While he is hospitalized two things happen. One is a medical diagnosis that will change his life. The other, a beautiful black woman he falls in serious like with.

The doctor has found a brain tumor in Nick's head. A major, serious brain tumor, which might help explain the fugues and forgotten times Nick is experiencing. Undaunted, tough guy Nick goes on with his life and his business. His son Dimitri has been a stranger to him for years. Dimitri drives him home from the hospital and things begin to change.

Nick is determined to find Amanda - and to find out why a picture from Desert High School, of a football team, has been stolen from his house. It was the only thing taken.

The suspects are oozing out of odd corners and it seems there is a common thread there somewhere, if Nick could just pull things together. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember what he learns from one minute to the next, but he won't quit.

Amanda's mother, Nick learns, is Lara Deems, Gerald Reasoner's last victim. How does that fit into the plot? Have to read the novel to find out. There is a bittersweet ending that melts the heart and makes one remember to keep hope alive.

Terrific bumps and brain jostles abound as the reader works to keep the players figured out. A wonderful and intriguing read awaits you if you pick up a copy of Oblivion!